Music

Neil Young Performs ‘After the Gold Rush’ and ‘Heart of Gold’ at 2026 Benefit Concert

Neil Young made his first live appearance of 2026 at a surprise benefit concert, performing hits like ‘After the Gold Rush’ and ‘Heart of Gold.’ The event honored Canadian environmental activist David Suzuki’s 90th birthday.

Rolling Stone·May 23, 2026·via Rolling Stone

Neil Young Performs ‘After the Gold Rush’ and ‘Heart of Gold’ at 2026 Benefit Concert

Guess Who's Back?

Watch Neil Young Play ‘After the Gold Rush’ and ‘Heart of Gold’ at First Live Appearance of 2026

The surprise set took place at a benefit concert honoring Canadian environmental activist David Suzuki on his 90th birthday

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

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May 23, 2026

Neil Young canceled all of his 2026 concert dates earlier this year, and has otherwise kept a fairly low public profile, but he reemerged May 22 for a surprise acoustic set at David Suzuki’s 90th birthday benefit concert, which was held at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Young played “After the Gold Rush” and “Heart of Gold,” marking his first live performance of any kind since the Painted Turtle benefit show on October 25, 2025.

David Suzuki is a prominent Canadian environmental activist, former host of CBC’s The Nature of Things , author of 55 books, and an emeritus professor at the University of British Columbia. Bruce Cockburn, Tara Cullis, Jane Fonda, Al Gore, Rick Hansen, Chantal Kreviazuk, Janelle Lapointe, Sarah McLachlan, and Danny Michel also participated in his birthday concert, which raised funds for the David Suzuki Foundation.

Young is a longtime advocate for David Suzuki’s work. On November 9, 2014, he performed at a Vancouver stop on his Blue Dot tour, sharing the bill with Barenaked Ladies, Margaret Atwood, and Wanting Qu. His set that night featured “Human Highway,” “Pocahontas,” and “Who’s Gonna Stand Up?”

In February, Young canceled a planned tour of Europe with the Chrome Hearts and special guest Elvis Costello. “I have decided to take a break and will not be touring Europe this time,” he wrote. “Thanks to everyone who bought tickets. I’m sorry to let you down, but this is not the time. I do love playing LIVE and being with you and the Chrome Hearts. LOVE Neil be well.”

He recently finished work on a new LP, Second Song , that he recorded with the Chrome Hearts at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studios in Malibu, California. In April, Young wrote that the album includes three unheard songs from his archives that he wrote in 1963. Earlier this month, however, he stated that they were just two archival songs, and they come from 1964.